Lategan to undergo shoulder surgery following Dakar injury.

PHOTO CREDIT: Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa.

Henk Lategan has confirmed that he will undergo shoulder surgery on Tuesday (today).

Having made their debut at the 2021 Dakar Rally, Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings had a lot to learn. And, coming from a cross country background, the South African pair has the necessary experience, but the Dakar is a whole different ball game with its long and challenging sandy dunes, etc. 

Lategan and Cummings overcame a few hurdles in the opening stages and brought home a superb second-place finish on stage three, immediately followed up with a third-place finish on stage four. A rather impressive result. However, a day later they would retire for the Dakar. 

PHOTO CREDIT: A.S.O/Dakar Rally.

The South African duo were forced to retire from the 2021 Dakar Rally after a heavy crash near the start of stage five. Henk and co-driver Brett were the third car to start the 456km-long stage between Saudi capital Riyadh and Al Qaisumah. Whilst they got off to a good start, they hit a ditch 19km's into the stage rolling their Toyota Hilux. 

Fortunately, the pair escaped any serious injuries. However, Lategan was flown to a hospital with a suspected collarbone fracture and was later released from the hospital. 

Henk confirmed on Monday evening that he will undergo surgery on his shoulder. 

"(I'm) going in for surgery on my shoulder," Lategan said. "The dislocation at Dakar is a bit worse than we first thought. Hopefully, I will be back in action soon!"

Written By: Junaid Samodien.

Al-Attiyah/Baumel to head field for DAKAR 2021 STAGE 1.

PHOTO CREDIT: Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa.

Toyota GAZOO Racing's Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel topped the short, sharp 2021 Dakar Rally prologue in their South African-built Toyota Hilux. Their time was matched by Brian Baragwanath and Taye Perry, in a Century Racing CR-6 buggy, which is also built in South Africa. 

“We are very pleased with Nasser and Mathieu setting the fastest time. They’ve proven before that they are happy to attack from the front,” TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Team Principal, Glyn Hall, said after the 11 km prologue. 

“Henk and Brett did exactly what we had hoped they’d do – a solid performance that places them in a good position for Stage 1.”

Dakar debutants Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings, posted a time just 15 seconds slower than that of the leaders, placing them in 7th place for the start of Stage 1 tomorrow.

Whilst teammates Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Alex Haro Bravo suffered a throttle response problem at the start of the prologue stage and lost some time resetting the system. They managed to restrict their time loss to 20 seconds despite the problem but will be starting Stage 1 in 19th place – which means De Villiers will have to deal with more dust and scattered tracks than he would have liked.

The final car in the Toyota GAZOO Racing SA team is that of Shameer Variawa and co-driver Dennis Murphy. The pair’s prologue time was 33 seconds off the pace. They’ll be starting as the 26th car on the road.

Stage 1 is a 622 km special that comprises a 345 km liaison, and a timed section of 277 km. The route will see the crews tackle sandy tracks, strewn with rocks in places. Protecting the tyres will be key in these conditions.